


she Reigns in my blood

by Skyepilot



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Alien Biology, Comfort, Corny, Dancing, F/M, Flirting, Humor, Kissing, Making out under a blanket, Mysterious Past, Public Display of Affection, Romance, Shipscuses, Skye's Mother - Freeform, Skye's father - Freeform, Slow Dancing, Sorry Not Sorry, Speculation, Star Party, Stars, Teasing, Training, night sky
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-12
Updated: 2014-11-14
Packaged: 2018-02-25 03:47:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,160
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2607323
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skyepilot/pseuds/Skyepilot
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Post 02x07. Ficlet series.  Skye and Coulson explore the city hologram together and so begins a running joke between them.</p><p>Title taken from the play "Love's Labours Lost."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Vision

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Coulson takes Skye on a tour of the hologram city.

She heard footsteps behind her and turned off the hologram.

“You’ve been spending a lot of time with that,” he said, standing in the door to his office.

“You have your answers, but, I don’t,” she said, turning to face him.

He walked towards her and took the pad from her hand, touching the button and the hologram of the city reappeared.

“This could be anywhere,” he said, staring over it.

“Or nowhere,” she said. “You said that the host was thousands of years old, right?  What if this place doesn’t even exist anymore?”

“Possible,” he said, walking to place the touchpad on the nearby desk and circling around the image.  “But, what if it does?” he said, turning to her with a huge smile.

She couldn’t help but smile back at him, even if it wasn’t with the same measure of enthusiasm.  She looked him over, rolled up shirt sleeves, tie a little loose.  The day was done. 

“What?” he asked, raising his eyebrows.  But the smile remained.

“Missed that,” she said.   Then pointed at his face. “You.”

“I missed it, too,” he said peering at her with the city standing between them.

“Come here,” he said, motioning to her towards where he stood.

She looked curious and hesitated for just a moment before walking over to where he was and then turned around to look back at the cityscape.

He motioned with his hands and turned the image as she watched the expression on his face change to one of concentration, manipulating the hologram until he had it just right.

“There,” he said, shifting his weight to one leg, his arm brushing against hers.

Skye felt a smile come over her face.  He’d made the image bigger, pulled them inside it, like they were looking out from a high vantage point over the whole city. As out of a window.

She couldn’t help but be delighted.

Her eyes flickered over to him for a moment to see him watching her intently.

“Your holotable skills have improved considerably,” she said, with an appreciative nod.

“I’ve…had some practice,” he replied with a smirk.

She focused back on the towers, streets and buildings stretched out below them.  There wasn't much detail, just the same shade of glowing blue, but it had texture and some life in it.

“I’ve always wanted to know where I came from,” she said.  “I never thought about looking on another planet.”

“Skye,” he said gently.  “We still don’t know that you’re…”

“Coulson... _sir_ , come on.  It’s no coincidence that the GH-325 had no effect on me, that the host was some kind of ancient alien, or that my father _the monster_ has the Obelisk with these symbols on it.”

“Point. But, that doesn’t mean you were born there. And, there’s still your mother to consider,” he said.

“My mother, who’s dead,” she said.

“Maybe your mother was in hiding because she was an important person?” he began, turning over the idea in his mind. “The village in the Hunan province.  Parts of it are pretty remote.  Surrounded by mountains.”

Skye took a breath, looking over at him.  “Thought about this, huh?” she asked wryly, crossing her arms.

“Maybe _you’re_ an important person?” he said quietly, looking down for a moment, and then back up at her.

“You mean like an Alien Monster Disney Princess?” she replied sarcastically.

“ _Less_ the monster part. Alien princess is kind of cool, though, right?”

She stifled a laugh.  “It must be past your bedtime,” she said.

“Hey, I’ve spent time with alien princes,” he said with a shrug.  “I could introduce you.  Only, not to the one that, _y’know_ , killed me?”

“Know your stuff, do you?” she said, bumping her shoulder up against his.

“We should tour your city,” he said. “Go for a walk around it.”

He reached out and motioned to change the perspective so that they were at street level in the center of a thoroughfare of some kind.

“Sir, why are you doing this?” she asked.

“I’m in a good mood,” he said, walking away for a moment, disappearing into the image, as her eyes followed after him.

She heard the sound of the fuzz from the speakers, and then music came on.  Uptempo, orchestral.

He walked back over to her and held his hand out.  “May I?”

Shaking her head she took his hand and felt his other softly on her back as they began to dance, sweeping across the floor.

“I don’t really know what I’m doing,” she said, looking up at him nervously, trying to keep up.

“That’s alright,” he said. “I’ve got you.”

She decided to stop worrying about her feet and glanced around them at the shapes of the buildings, up into the skyline high above.

“What was the host like?” she asked after a moment, as he turned her.

“Nothing like you, if that’s what you’re worried about,” he said.

“A monster?” she went on.

“Very tall, blue skin, quite well built,” he answered. “Bet he'd be a terrible dancer, though,” he added, spinning her around.

"If I'm an alien princess, does that mean I get to call you _Phil_?" she asked, cocky, tilting her chin up at him.

"Oooh," he said, his brows coming together. "On a first name basis with an alien princess. That would definitely be a first."

The music began to slow down, and he pulled her in closer to him.

"My father might not approve," she said, sliding her hands over his shoulders.

"No, I suppose not," he said, as his arms went around her waist, his cheek touched against her hair. "But, I doubt very much that you care what your father thinks."

When the music ended, they stood there for a moment more, holding each other.

She slowly began pulling away from him with a downward gaze.

"I still have the GH-325 in me, Skye," he said suddenly, taking both of her hands, "We're still in this together. Okay?"

"So, that's what this is about," she said, sliding her hands free. "I know you mean that, but, you're not a monster, or an alien," she said.  "I don't even know _what_ I am."

"It doesn't matter," he said.  "It's never going to matter to me."

She sucked in a breath, fighting the urge to cry.  "But everyone else..."

He stepped to her and hugged her to his chest, his hand brushing lightly over her back.

"I'm not ready for them to know," she said.

"Only when you're ready, then," he said. "I can keep a secret.   _Your Highness_."

He took her hand and held it up to his lips then stopped short, looking at her with a question.

"You may kiss the royal person," she said, airily, then started to laugh as he finished the gesture.

"Anything else I can do for the royal person?"

He said it in such a casual way, but she felt herself starting to blush.

"Let me think about it."

 


	2. Limits

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skye asks to workout with Coulson because of their GH-325 connection (totally makes sense, really).

"May said this was at your request?"

"Yeah," she answered.

They were in the training room, standing at the mats in their workout clothes.

"It's just, sometimes with May and I..."

"May can be pretty tough, huh?"

"Yeah," she said, looking around the room. "Look, the thing is, I want to work with this, not against it. If I'm different, or, like my father. I don't want to put the others at risk."

"Thanks, that makes me feel special," he replied, with a tight smile, checking the tape on his hands.

"You understand what it's like to lose control," she said, as his eyes flickered up to meet hers. "And, you still have the GH-325 in you."

He tipped his head back and stared at her for a moment.

"The effects I was experiencing are gone," he said, frowning a little.

"Yes," she answered. "But, Simmons said that having your genetic code get its own alien remix might have other side effects."

"Understood," he said nodding towards her, walking towards the punching bag.

She followed after him as he gripped the bag.

"So, you've been holding back with May?" he asked, after a moment.

"Ever since we found my father," she answered slowly.  "She noticed, I think."

"She did," he said, as she started to warm up on the bag.

"And she's been holding back, too," Skye continued, easing up a moment. "She's worried about triggering me."

"That's what I asked her to do," he said, as she went back at it, looking her over. "Widen your stance."

"She wasn't testing my limits, is my point," Skye said, landing a particularly hard punch. "She was okay with this?"

"The last time she left me alone with you, I stopped carving into walls," he smiled. "She's letting go of some things, I think."

"Probably just relieved that she doesn't have to babysit you anymore."

"That too," he replied with a grunt as the bag was knocked back into his chest. "Harder. I can handle it."

She did a few more strikes as he looked on.

"It's not just about handling your breathing or maintaining control. It's where you let your thoughts lead you."

"Like, 'congratulations on being a monster and hope you like the idea of misery with a side of alone'?" she said, pausing.

"How about, 'life is tough and this is who I am, but I'm pretty great and maybe I can make an even bigger difference'?"

She gave him a withering look.

"Think about that city and all the possibilities it holds," he said, egging her on to hit again. "We'll get there before HYDRA."

"How many cups of coffee have you had already today?" she asked punching weakly.

"Look, your highness," he started, smugly, "If you're not going to put in 100% I'm done here."

She raised her eyebrows at the challenge. "If I'm the one in charge...," she began.

"You're not," he said, cutting her off. "Royalty in exile are diplomats by necessity. You need to build alliances."

"You, naturally," she said, tiling her head.

"I'm a good start," he said with a smirk.

She laughed. "I think it's more the other way around," she said, eyeing him between a few weak taps. "You need me."

"I'd like to think I have a lot to offer," he said, pushing back against the bag. "I'm companionable, I have this nice base," he said with a shrug. "An invisible jet?  _I really hate HYDRA_. And...I'm pretty funny."

"Don't forget the suits," she said. 

"Who knows?  We might even be able to work out an arrangement.  You, bankrolling SHIELD, me..." he went on. 

"Now you're being _ridiculous_ ," she said, wiping at the sweat that was collecting at her eyebrows. "Your turn.  And don't hold back."

She held the bag and stared back at him, waiting.

He warmed up a little then threw a solid punch.  Nodded when he checked in with her and attacked it again.

"Sir, really?" she asked, wrinkling her nose a little.

Setting his jaw his eyes fixed on somewhere else other than her and he slammed the bag.  She could hold, but it put her stance off.

"I haven't done this," he started.  "Since..."

"It's okay," she said, leaning into the bag again.  "May's hit harder."

"Let go of the bag," he asked suddenly.

She did, and then stepped to the side and crossed her arms.

He started to punch the bag, building in intensity.  She could see he was pushing towards something.  The muscles in his arms were straining and the chain holding the bag up was rattling from the punishing. He was sweating hard, heavy breaths coming, he was losing control.

"Coulson," she said, trying to get his attention.  "Hey!" she said, reaching for his arm.

He put his fist through the bag, then pulled it out, as the sand began to empty out onto the floor.

Standing there in silence, he watched his handiwork spilling out around his feet.

"Talk to me," she said, stepping towards him.

Putting his hand out to keep her back, he moved away as she followed, leaning his shoulder against the wall, closing his eyes, taking deep breaths.  "Just give me a moment."

"I'll go get you some water," she said, starting to turn away.

"No," he said, his hand reaching to slide down over her arm, before quickly pulling it away.  "Just...stay."

"Okay."

He breathed more slowly, his eyes closing again, when he felt a hand brush against his.  Gazing, he saw she had lifted his fingers in hers and was looking at the tape around his knuckles.

"Keep going bare knuckle like that...you might need some real gloves," she said, touching his wrist gently as she stared at the red seeping through the tape.

"I lost it," he said, pushing away from the wall.  "I'm sorry."  

"It's okay,"  she said, leaning towards him, "I've got you."


	3. Seeing Stars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Coulson takes Skye away for a moment to get her mind off of things.

"Well,  _that_ was fun."

He caught his breath and stared back at her, momentarily annoyed, but noticing the sarcastic expression that went with it.

"Your dad's a real asshole," Coulson said, letting himself down to the ground.

She came and slid against the wall to sit beside him.

He took her hand in his, turned it over to see the cut across her palm.

"Here," he said, pulling a handkerchief of out his distressed jacket, "Let's take care of this."

"Guess if he couldn't get all of me to go with him...," she started.

"You _do not_   belong to him," he said angrily, as her face went suddenly soft.

The adrenaline rush of the moment was wearing off, and after he'd finished wrapping her cut, he pulled her against him until her head rested against his shoulder.

"Do you think he was ever just a decent man?" she asked quietly. "What kind of woman could my mother have been to want to be with someone like that?"

"I don't know," he replied, touching her hair. "But he's desperate now."

"He's working for HYDRA," she said, pulling back to look up at him. "Working with _Nazis_ , just like..."

"Come on," he said, getting to his feet and then extending his hand.

She took it and let him pull her up after.

"Where are we going?"

"To meet up with the rest of the team," he said, still holding onto her hand. "And then, away."

"Away _what_?" she asked, as he pulled her along with him out of the empty warehouse.

"From this," he said. "Just for a moment."

  
***

"Star party," she said, looking up at the domed shapes against the night sky.

"Yeah," he said, smiling at her guess as he parked the SUV at the base of the hill.

"You've got space on the brain lately," she said, getting out and shutting the door behind her, wrapping her sweatered arms around herself against the night chill.

" _I know_ ," he said, excited, pulling a bag out of the trunk before shutting it. "Shall we?"

They began walking up the hillside towards the observatory, as other visitors came alongside them.

Settling down in the back of the amphitheater, they watched as the pointer light went up into the night sky and the lecture began over the microphone.

Coulson unzipped the bag and pulled out a blanket and a thermos with a couple of cups.

"Warm your hands?" he asked, handing her the cup and he opened up the thermos and poured as the smell of spiced cider filled the air.

She was about to take a drink when he stopped her with a hand.

"Warm your heart?" he said with a smile, taking a flask out of his pocket.

When she nodded he screwed the top off, dumping some of the liquid into the cup, and then did the same for himself. He held it out to her, her hands now full, and he pulled the blanket over them both.

"Wow," he said, looking up at all the stars exposed above them, taking back his drink.

She glanced over at him, watching, sipping on her hot toddy, eyeing his knit cap and sweater. He looked so not Coulson.

"There's so much more than what's just here, Skye," he said, still looking up. "I feel like we're on the brink of something.  Something..."

"Ridiculous?" she asked, causing him to frown slightly and look over at her.

"You're more than what's just here," he said, staring back at her. "Your life, up until this point, it doesn't define you. Your father doesn't get to define you."

"You make it sound way more romantic," she said, staring at the bandage on her hand, "And less like I've got a lunatic Hitler Youth stalker and a father that's a raging monster."

"How I wish you'd never met Grant Ward," he said, with a heavy sigh. "I really do."

"Well, I sure know how to pick 'em," she said, looking down at her hands.

"It's more like...they pick you," he said, considering it.

" _Thanks_ ," she said rolling her eyes, then looking up above. They just seemed so tiny and far away.

"Except...," he said, pausing for a moment. "I picked you."

"We struck a bargain," she said, turning to him, trying not to laugh at his boldness.

"Yes, princess," he said, wiggling a little in his seat, as she elbowed him. "But, Nick Fury told me it was a bad idea, and, I did it anyway," he said, staring at her as he took a big sip.

Skye raised an eyebrow at him. "Really?"

"Yup," he said, with a huge smirk.

"May probably thought it was a bad idea, too?" she considered, as he nodded. "And Ward," she went on, smiling.

They both started laughing.

"It was definitely a good idea," he said, gazing back at her.  "One of my best."

"Guys in knit hats and sweaters? Not so bad," she said, yanking off his knit cap, as she bit her lip defiantly and she set down her drink.

"Hey," he said, trying to smooth down his hair, until he realized that she was leaning forward to kiss him, and his breath caught.

He let her for a few moments. Just kiss him. Feeling her mouth against his, the taste of whiskey and cider between them, before he opened his eyes and set his drink down and then kissed her back in earnest.

She hummed her approval as she wrapped her hand around his neck and then felt his hand at her hip, drawing her closer to him as his mouth teased hers open and she leaned into him, pressing herself against him as his tongue slid against hers.

"We should get out of here," she said, as his mouth began making its way down her neck. "Before people notice..."

"That aliens make out among you?" he said, flirty as he tugged on the edge of the blanket. "That's what the blanket's for."

"I see you've thought of everything," she said.

He pulled it over their heads, and kissed her.

 


End file.
